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Zephon Carhagen
Zephon Carhagen is the Lord of Seedfall and one of the few remaining senior Paladins of the Silver Hand, having served the order since shortly after it's founding during the Great War period where the newly formed Alliance of Lordaeron battled against the bloodthirsty Horde lead by Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer. He is a proud individual, but finds himself torn between two races due to his mixed blood. As one of the offspring of a human and a high elf, he finds himself not easily accepted by either race due to his parentage but none the less soldiers on, focusing on his duties as a sworn paladin and noble lord. In recent months Zephon has served as the representative for the Blood of Arathor on the Congregation of the Silver Hand. After the great shism which divided the loyalties of all Congregation members Zephon attempted to broker a peace between the two factions, but was betrayed by the Council of Bishops and has withdrawn from all official dealings with the Council and the College of Canons. Having departed Stormwind shortly after the betrayal, his current location and his allegience is unknown. Appearance A half-elf of unknown age, Zephon Carhagen is what one might consider a mixed bag when it comes to his appearance due to his mixed blood. From his Quel'dorei mother he takes his pale skin, long flowing black hair and his slightly elongated ears, and from his human father he takes a thicker, more structured build, green eyes and chiseled facial features. He is almost always seen in armor which is befitting a Paladin of the Silver Hand, thick plates of white and gold expertly crafted and well maintained. When he is not in his armor, he is instead in casual clothing which more often than not is either red or purple in coloration. His weapon of choice whenever it is available to him is an elven greatsword Bel'Serrar or Sun Blade. Crafted by the finest smiths in Quel'thalas, it was handed down to him by his mother who served in the personal guard of the Sunstrider family. Personality Zephon is contemplative and patient, hardly ever taking rash action unless he is severely pressed. A true tactician, he plans and considers every possible outcome before taking a step in either direction when it comes to making important decisions, which has helped him more often than not avoid many serious mistakes which have befallen those rasher than himself. While he may be slow to anger due to his almost limitless patience when he is forced to the breaking point he can be rather savage with his words, having gained a sharp tongue from both his mother and father. While what he says can sometimes be considered brutal and unnecessary, he maintains a truth to his words, meaning that he truly believes all that he has said. Faith Zephon, like his late father and mother, have remained true to the Church of the Holy Light. Originally one of the faithful, in recent years he became a Paladin of the Silver Hand and while the Order has gone through several major fluctuations and come close to total annihilation, he has remained a faithful soldier within it's ranks and exists as one of the few remaining Paladins that can trace their efforts back to when the Order was first founded during the Great War period of Azerothian history. Lands and Titles Zephon until very recently did not maintain a hold on any lands or titles outside of those owned by his family in Quel'thalas and the City of Avern. With both locations lost to him (with Quel'thalas within the firm grasp of the Horde and Avern occupied by the Scourge) he was not even a land owner much less a Lord. Following the Thunder Isle campaign however, he was awarded lands and titles by his superior Aretain Kingsmith, a fellow paladin much like himself. In return for his many years of service, and the condition that Aretain found himself in (that being a spectral wraith) Zephon was awarded the Kingsmith lands in Avern and Draenor. This new transfer of lands turned Zephon Carhagen into Lord Carhagen and as a result he has been forced to take up many administrative duties ensuring that the needs of his people come before his own. He is currently the Lord of three settlements: Avern, a city located within Northern Lordaeron which is under Scourge Occupation. Longshore, a coastal settlement in the same region as Avern which was razed during the Third War and Seedfall, a newly constructed settlement located over the ruins of Tuurem in Terrokar Forest. Out of the three Seedfall is perhaps the settlement which takes up the majority of his time, it's continued existence hinging on a fragile pact between the Alliance, Horde and Sha'tar who all have forces in the region. History Early Years Zephon Carhagen was born in the city of Avern in the year 488 K.C. The son of Johan Carhagen, a miner and engineer and Eliria Dawnbreeze former royal guard to the Sunstrider line, Zephon was divided between two words. On the one side his human family, of which he shared many of his physical traits and on the other his elven family, which gave him some features which caused him to stand out among the crowd. He was given the best education his family could afford, which wasn't the best given his father's vocation as a miner. Needless to say he managed to get by, although his childhood was plagued with the relentless teasing of other children, who mocked him for the features that his elven blood bestowed upon him. When he reached his teenage years, which for a half-elf took considerably longer than the other humans around him, he was brought under the wing of his mother for a time, trained in the art of the combat. As a former royal guard of Quel'thalas, Eliria Dawnbreeze was expected to have the best training possible to defend the royal line against any possible threat, foreign or domestic and it was this training that she passed on to Zephon, eventually turning him into a very capable swordsman. This training lead to his presence being noticed by the ruling Lord of Avern at the time, Vladimir Kingsmith, who was looking to train his son Viktor in the art of the sword. Elevated to a higher position, Eliria was instructed to train both Zephon and Viktor, and the two boys became good friends as they sparred together with Eliria taking her place as one of the personal bodyguards to the Kingsmith family. Adulthood By the time Zephon reached what would be considered early adulthood Viktor was already man well into his thirties and was now the ruling Lord of Avern after the passing of his father. Viktor and his wife Lucia had already welcomed their first child into the world a young boy by the name of Aretain, and Zephon instructed to watch over the boy much like his mother was watching over Viktor and his wife. Zephon took to his task rather well, keeping a close eye on Aretain as he grew older. When the Great War began which saw the arrival of the Orc Horde in Azeroth, Zephon being a skilled swordsman, was drafted into Raven Company, the company that was the pride of Avernian military. He rode with Viktor, his mother and the rest of the Company where they fought against the orcs on many battlefields, some successful and others being more considerable losses. During a battle within the nation of Stromgarde, tragedy would strike in the way of great loss, with Zephon's mother Eliria being cut down by Maim Blackhand in single combat. Later after the defeat of the Black Tooth Grin Clan, of which Maim was a leader, Zephon was able to recover his mother's body and personal effects, including her sword Belore'Serrar, or 'Sun Blade'. Taking it as his personal weapon, he used it for the rest of the war, bringing the wrath of his slain mother and the elven people on to the orcs for their unchecked aggression. By war's end he had taken many orc lives, although he was infuriated with his inability to find Maim Blackhand and exact revenge for his mother's death. Defender of the Light Shortly after the end of the Great War, Avern would play host to Lord Edward Kang, or Ballador the Bright, one of the original Paladins of the Silver Hand an order which had risen during the previously fought Great War. Lord Kang was searching for possible recruits, and managed to enlist Zephon as a potential before stumbling across Viktor's son Aretain who with some challenging diplomacy, managed to gain as another potential recruit. Both men traveled to Stratholme, the home of the Order where they would train to become Knights of the Silver Hand. Zephon, the elder of the two would watch over Aretain during his training. As the years rolled by Aretain became a skilled warrior in his own right, even outclassing Zephon in some areas of weapons mastery, although Zephon always maintained a stronger connection to the light over his Lord's son. The pair worked together up to and even after their knighting ceremony. While Zephon retained his actual name and did not take on a secondary 'holy' name, Aretain did so and became Cyrus the Merciful. The pair worked together bringing the Light to those that needed it and punishing the wicked who would prey upon the innocent. It was during this period, after both men had become Knights of the Silver Hand that the events leading to the Third War would start to begin. The rising presence of the undead unsettled both men and while they were separated they kept in constant contact through lettered correspondence. While Aretain fought beside Prince Arthas, another Paladin within their ranks, Zephon was under orders to protect the Kings Road, and thus avoided taking part in the Culling of Stratholme, an act which would forever torture Aretain's mind. Much time would pass after the Culling and the undead threat, while always present, was being kept in check. This would continue for some time until the return of Arthas Menethil. The Paladin, now twisted by a great darkness which no one predicted, killed his own father and unleashed the undead on the city of Lordaeron, destroying it entirely. Zephon was forced back by the constant assaults and forced to retreat south into Stromgarde. He lost contact with his friend and now Lord having known that his father Viktor was within Lordaeron city at the time of its fall. Meeting up with the refugee caravans, Zephon helped escort them further south through the mountainous regions of Khaz Modan and into the Kingdom of Stormwind where he took up a posting within the Church of the Holy Light his efforts focused on aiding the refugees and attempting to rebuild the Paladin Order which had suffered almost an entire extermination at the hands of the undead scourge. Eventually Zephon would meet up with Aretain again, the man having survived the Scourge assaults on Lordaeron, although he would learn that it did not come without cost. Aretain's wife, brothers and only son had died during the assaults. Zephon mourned along side his friend and Lord, as his family had close ties to the Kingsmith line since Zephon had sparred with Viktor all those years ago. Current Events Zephon has served in all the Alliance's current campaigns in some fashion often fighting beside his Lord as his personal bodyguard. Mostly uneventful, the only main campaign which created a form of turmoil for Zephon was the Thunder Isle Campaign. It was this Campaign which saw the 'death' of Aretain Kingsmith, the man betrayed by forces he thought were loyal to him, his body destroyed by the forces of the Mogu and his soul placed into a suit of armor made from a mixture of living steel and anima. With Aretain's rebirth as one of the undead, Zephon was given the lands and titles of Aretain, his house became Zephon's house and Zephon was forced to take on many duties that he was not entirely prepared for. This forced him from the field of battle for some time, which has prevented him from fighting within the Siege of Orgrimmar against Garrosh Hellscream and his Kor'kron Soldiers.